While most University students may be home relaxing in states of post-midterm bliss, members of an international exchange program will have to pack their bags and embark on the long journey from Beijing to Eugene.
Oregon University System officials decided on Monday to suspend the student exchange program in Beijing, China, due to the threat of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Sixteen students from various Oregon universities, including six from the University of Oregon, will have to return home after their midterm exams next week. The students were formally notified by e-mail on Tuesday.
Christine Sproul, director of the China program at OUS, said it is the first time in 30 years they’ve had to suspend a study-abroad program. OUS will assist the students with financial or academic obstacles they may face from suspension of the program, as well advise them about health precautions to take when they return home, she added.
The OUS Chancellor’s office, medical experts and representatives from the seven OUS universities met last week to discuss the issue and decide what action should be taken in light of government-issued travel warnings to China. The decision was made to end the program and bring students home after recent reports that the Chinese government may have been withholding information about the severity of SARS.
“It’s just too risky and there are too many unknowns,” Sproul said. “In hindsight, we may say it was a hasty decision, but until it’s known how to contain (SARS), this is the best course of action.”
OUS spokeswoman Di Saunders said a survey of other U.S. exchange programs that revealed nearly all organizations had decided to discontinue programs and bring students back also influenced the decision.
“We’ve had some calls from parents who are very relieved that the students are coming home,” Saunders said.
Caroline Vanderkar, the University’s Overseas Program coordinator, said the University’s stance on the decision was congruous with the OUS decision. Reinstatement of the program next fall will
depend on how the SARS epidemic progresses and the response from government agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vanderkar added.
CDC and the World Health Organization have issued travel advisories to Toronto, Canada, China, Vietnam and Singapore. They recommend nonessential travel to these areas be avoided.
According to the most recent information from WHO, there are 4,288 reported cases of SARS worldwide, with 39 reported in the United States. More than 200 people have died from the pneumonia-like disease, though no deaths have occurred in the United States.